Hint of Hazelnut Vegan Brownies

Eating clean doesn’t mean giving up dessert. There are hundreds of “healthier” dessert recipes out there that exclude butter, cream, eggs, white sugar and refined white flours. I have been craving chocolate all week, (not that that’s out of the ordinary for me) so I plan on having a cheat day tomorrow and making these brownies. You can make these for your friends and family without telling them they are vegan, they’ll never be able to tell the difference! The secret ingredient that makes these brownies so good is Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend. Justin’s has become pretty popular and you can find it at most grocery stores. It comes in a small packet and usually costs around $1.

Justin’s makes some other great flavors like Maple Almond Butter and Honey Peanut Butter. I haven’t tried it, but I bet either of those would go great in this recipe as well! Remember, never feel guilty about eating chocolate, it is good for your soul and your sanity.

Vegan Chocolate Brownies

Total time:45 minutes

Yield: 16 Brownies

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 + 2tbsp. coconut oil

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 flax eggs

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour

1 packet Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend

Steps:

To make the flax eggs, whisk together 2 tbsp. of ground flax seed with 6 tbsp. water. Allow to set for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8×8 baking pan with greased foil. (I used coconut oil to grease)

Melt the coconut oil. Mix together with the almond butter, Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and maple syrup until smooth. The warm coconut oil should help to melt the hazelnut butter down a bit.

Add in the cocoa powder in 1/4 increments until well incorporated.

Add vanilla extract, flax eggs and salt. Stir until smooth.

In parts, fold in the flour and coconut sugar.

When mixture is well blended and smooth, pour into the greased pan and place in the oven.

Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a knife is inserted and comes out clean.